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Just because a company finds a way to save money in one area does not mean they should give things away for free. The cost of other areas (content mainly) are on the rise and they have to find ways to offset those cost otherwise everyones bill will keep going up or they will not be able to stay in business.

Boy, that term sure has been watered down over the years. Trust me, you do not have two home theaters - nobody does. In my living room I have a 65" properly calibrated display with 7.2 sound, but it's not a home theater - it's a living room.

To answer the OP, I don't think it really matters, but I'd put the C31 in the bedroom due to the form factor.

Back to the question about a C31 vs. HR24 in a bedroom. I had a HR24-500 in our bedroom and replaced it with a C31 (yes I was in the test group so I've had one for awhile). I'm a very light sleeper and while the HR24-500 that was there was very quiet I could still hear the fan/hard drive very faintly. While it does use a tuner from the HR34 I haven't yet run into a conflict of not having a free tuner available. The reasons I had for doing the swap was:

- noise reduction
- better control over the ToDo list since one less DVR to manage
- access to OTA channels via the AM21 attached to the HR34
- caller ID provided by phone line attached to the HR34
- electricity savings by removing the HR24 and the UPS it attached to ( I put UPS's on all my DVR's)

I will say that the UI interface is a bit slower on the C31 vs. a HR24 but for me it's livable.

Oh right, I forgot about that program where Directv is forcing you to convert to C31s. Yeah, I guess I'd be pretty miffed about that.

Convert, no. I would wager a bet, however, that as soon as the C31 comes out and is verified to be working correctly, the new customer installs will no longer be a HDDVR and three HD receivers. It will be an HR34 and three C31's, which is theoretically the same tuner count, and monthly subscription cost. It will save DirecTv a LOT of money in the future. Smart move on their part.

The problem lies with those customers who require more than two recording tuners. For those customers, the C31's taking a tuner from the HR34, might be a problem where a second HDDVR would be a better choice for them.

As long as DirecTv allows a person to configure their system to meet their needs, all should be ok.

As VOS points out, however, I still disagree with the monthly fee for the C31. If people are willing to pay the $6 for the C31, and another $3 for the cable rental to use it (MRV fee) ($9/mo total for the first one), then more power to them.

Boy, that term sure has been watered down over the years. Trust me, you do not have two home theaters - nobody does. In my living room I have a 65" properly calibrated display with 7.2 sound, but it's not a home theater - it's a living room.

To answer the OP, I don't think it really matters, but I'd put the C31 in the bedroom due to the form factor.

ahem, Excuse me for piping in,But I have a 9.1 surround system in the living room as well as a 5.1 in my bedroom, thank you very much

ahem, Excuse me for piping in,But I have a 9.1 surround system in the living room as well as a 5.1 in my bedroom, thank you very much

Not to derail the thread, but along with my 7.2 system in the living room, I have two other 5.1 systems with large screen displays (65" and 60"). Still, none of them are home theaters, just a nice living room, game room, and playroom.

On the other hand, DirecTV doesn't charge you more per month for a 5 tuner DVR than they do for a 2 tuner DVR, so you weren't really paying for that extra tuner already, were you?

If they did, then charging for the C31 would make more sense. I actually expected the HR34 to be activated with two tuners, and require an addition fee to enable the other three. The fact Tivo released their 4 tuner DVR at the same time, and cable companies did not charge extra probably played into that decision.

Convert, no. I would wager a bet, however, that as soon as the C31 comes out and is verified to be working correctly, the new customer installs will no longer be a HDDVR and three HD receivers. It will be an HR34 and three C31's, which is theoretically the same tuner count, and monthly subscription cost. It will save DirecTv a LOT of money in the future. Smart move on their part.

Smart move from a cost perspective, but not very thought out if that proves to be true as the HR34 does not have enough tuners to allow for a seamless TV watching experience (ie using double play) have Genie operating and the customer trying to record a show all the while supporting 3 C31s.

In that scenario the customer will have C31s without tuners of their own and a major new feature in Genie pulling one (or even multiple) tuners for its use. So what is the customer left with to watch TV if he's also recording a show?

I see a customer getting frustrated by constantly having to to juggle and ration tuners to make it all work.

The HR34 should have had 8 tuners IMO (or change the silly policy of one HR34 per account).

Smart move from a cost perspective, but not very thought out if that proves to be true as the HR34 does not have enough tuners to do that, allow for a seamless TV watching experience (ie using double play) have Genie operating and the customer trying to record a show.

In that scenario the customer will have C31s without tuners of their own and a major new feature in Genie pulling one (or even multiple) tuners for its use. So what is the customer left with to watch TV if he's also recording a show?

I see a customer getting frustrated by constantly having to to juggle and ration tuners to make it all work.

The HR34 should have had 8 tuners IMO.

People here tend to be power users. You have to realize that currently most new customers get 1 HD/DVR and HD receivers for their other TVs. Currently, it is very rare for me to install HR34s.

If the national offer becomes 1 HR34 and 3 C31s(which we'll have to wait until the 11th to find out how hard Genie will be pushed) the average customer wins. They get 5 tuners that can record, instead of 2 recordable and 3 live only. They get trick-play on each TV. They can watch a recording on each TV at the same time.

DirecTV TechnicianMy thoughts and opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of DirecTV, my HSP, or anyone else.

People here tend to be power users. You have to realize that currently most new customers get 1 HD/DVR and HD receivers for their other TVs. Currently, it is very rare for me to install HR34s.

If the national offer becomes 1 HR34 and 3 C31s(which we'll have to wait until the 11th to find out how hard Genie will be pushed) the average customer wins. They get 5 tuners that can record, instead of 2 recordable and 3 live only. They get trick-play on each TV. They can watch a recording on each TV at the same time.

A family of 5 with a couple of teenagers and three TVs in the house would hardly be considered "power users". The 5 tuners aren't just for recording, they have to support live TV as well if D* moves to a 3 C31 installation. But I agree that if each TV is being used, the net affect of tuners available for recording /watching live TV would be the same as having an HR2X with 3 receivers (ie 5 total tuners) with the added benefit of being able to pause live TV on the other TVs.

The point I was making is the wildcard is Genie. If that is a major push, there is simply not enough tuners. People will either be unable to use Genie or be aggravated because they constantly have to ration tuners in the house. Especially in the current implementation where Genie seems to take tuners as it pleases to the point it interferes with live TV.

A family of 5 with a couple of teenagers and three TVs in the house would hardly be considered "power users". The 5 tuners aren't just for recording, they have to support live TV as well if D* moves to a 3 C31 installation. But I agree that if each TV is being used, the net affect of tuners available for recording /watching live TV would be the same as having an HR2X with 3 receivers (ie 5 total tuners) with the added benefit of being able to pause live TV on the other TVs.

The point I was making is the wildcard is Genie. If that is a major push, there is simply not enough tuners. People will either be unable to use Genie or be aggravated because they constantly have to ration tuners in the house. Especially in the current implementation where Genie seems to take tuners as it pleases to the point it interferes with live TV.

I think anyone can find a "what if" case.U-Verse has customers, but is limited to 3 or 4 channels.The HR34 & C31 can share a tuner, which is nice, as the commercial for Whole Home DVR becomes a bit more of a reality, as you're not limited to recordings, but can do it with live TV.Have you ever run out of tuners on the HR34 with a C31? It pops up a screen where you select which recording to interrupt.If Genie were "in my way", it would get stopped.If the "couple of teenagers" end up putting more demand on the system, the customer can add/change them to a DVR.You can't do this with U-Verse.